Warriors: Hint In The Stars (Book 1), High Waters
by CoastalWingull
Summary: The Four Clans have lived at peace for many seasons, long after the rule of Bramblestar, and nothing awful has struck out until now. The Dark Forest has been rumoured to return with a vengeance, and new cats down at the Lake have caused much tension. We follow this story in the PoV of Nebulastar, RiverClan's leader. Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter. This is a Fan Continuation.
1. Alliegiances

ALLIEGIANCES

RiverClan

 **Leader:** Nebulastar- blue she-cat with aqua eyes and a long tail

 **Deputy:** Fishtail- light grey tom with a darker grey front paws and tail, blue eyes

 **Medicine cat:** Sandstreak- blended beige and brown tabby tom, yellow eyes

 **Warriors:** Archfang- brown tom with strange long and sharp fangs, orange eyes and a scar going down his shoulder

Apprentice, Nettlepaw

Swiftfoot- grey tom with blue eyes

Turtleheart- tortoiseshell she-cat with beautiful green eyes

Apprentice, Ospreypaw

Mosspool- tabby she-cat with a light underbelly and green eyes

Apprentice, Goosepaw

Softcreek- grey tom, blue eyes

Nightfrost- grey she-cat with black stripes, light blue eyes

Snowtalon- sheer white tom with a mottled black and grey fore paw

Willowpelt- light brown she-cat, yellow-ish green eyes, scarred back leg

Minnowscale- blended grey tom, blue eyes

 **Apprentices:** Nettlepaw- brown tom, green eyes

Goosepaw- dark brown she-cat with white patches, yellow eyes

Ospreypaw- black she-cat with a white underbelly and aqua eyes with smooth, feathery long fur

 **Queens:** Spottedshell- beige she-cat with light brown spots along the back, yellow eyes, mother of Softcreek's kits: Slatekit, Shimmerkit, and Palekit

 **Kits:** Slatekit- smooth grey tom, blue eyes

Shimmerkit- dappled brown, beige, and grey she-kit, one yellow eye, and one blue

Palekit- light brown tom with grey patches, yellow eyes

 **Elders:** Larchwhisker- light grey she-cat with a brown muzzle, nicked left ear

ShadowClan

 **Leader:** Falconstar- brown tom with a white underbelly, black tabby patches and amber eyes

 **Deputy:** Oakstripe- brown tabby tom with orange eyes

Apprentice, Cedarpaw

 **Medicine cat:** Sparrowsong- grey she-cat with a white underbelly and yellow eyes

Apprentice, Cloudpaw

 **Warriors:** Pineshade- black tom, green eyes

Crowwing- grey tom with a black tail tip, blue eyes

Hollowtree- brown tabby she-cat with light brown underbelly, hazel eyes

Ivyleaf- mottled she-cat, green eyes, and a somewhat startled expression

Frogwhisker- dark tabby tom, yellow eyes

Apprentice, Stonepaw

 **Apprentices:** Cloudpaw- dark grey tom with white tufts, blue eyes, in training to be a medicine cat

Cedarpaw- brown tom, orange eyes

Stonepaw- solid grey tom, blue eyes

 **Queens:** Silentrain- black she-cat with grey and white patches, blue eyes, mother of Frogwhisker's kits: Poppykit and Tallkit

 **Kits:** Poppykit- blended brown, grey, and white she-kit, blue eyes

Tallkit- grey and brown tom with darker blue eyes

 **Elders:** Sagebranch- light brown she-cat, dark green eyes

WindClan

 **Leader:** Tornstar- ragged-furred grey tom with a brown ear, golden eyes and a scar on his muzzle

 **Deputy:** Galewhisper- brown tabby tom with dusty streaks, amber eyes

 **Medicine cat:** Tanglegorse- light brown tortoiseshell she-cat with hazel eyes

 **Warriors:** Hareleap- brown tom, yellow eyes

Apprentice, Adderpaw

Sunchaser- orange and ginger tom, sharp amber eyes

Loststep- grey tom with a faded brown back and a somewhat crooked right fore paw, light blue eyes

Buzzardwing- brown half-tabby tom, large ears, yellow eyes

Vipertail- long-tailed brown she-cat with striking green eyes

Ferretnose- beige she-cat, yellow eyes

Dovefeather- grey she-cat, blue eyes, thick fur, formerly part of ThunderClan

Branchbelly- odd colour mutated white she-cat with a brown underbelly and yellow eyes, former Kittypet and rogue

 **Apprentices:** Adderpaw- simple brown tom, amber eyes

 **Queens:** Blossomeye- white she-cat with strangle, albino lilac eyes

Duskfall- orange she-cat with a white underbelly and dusty patches, amber eyes, mother of Galewhisper's kits: Risingkit, Twigkit, Runningkit, and Dustkit

 **Kits:** Risingkit- orange tabby she-cat, amber eyes

Twigkit- brown she-cat with a dusty patch on her chest, yellow eyes

Runningkit- light brown tom, orange eyes

Dustkit- light brown blended tom, yellow eyes

ThunderClan

 **Leader:** Dawnstar- long-furred orange she-cat with a soft white underbelly, bright yellow eyes

 **Deputy:** Owlwing- brown tabby tom, light underbelly, yellow eyes, nicked ears

 **Medicine cat:** Ashbreeze- mixed grey tom, tufted ears and blue eyes, scarred muzzle

 **Warriors:** Gingercloud- ginger she-cat with brighter and darker splotches, white underbelly

Beechfoot- beige tom with white forepaws, light green eyes

Lightstreak- faded orange tom with darker flecks, hazel eyes

Hawktail- brown tabby tom, long battered tail, amber eyes

Aspenstripe- white and black tabby tom, light green eyes

Fennelwhisker- light grey tabby she-cat with green eyes and long whiskers

Shrewfur- gray she-cat with pale eyes

Mottlepelt- mottled brown she-cat with long fur, mossy eyes

 **Queens:** Silversky- grey she-cat with light stripes, blue eyes, mother of Aspenstripe's kits: Cloudykit and Juniperkit

 **Kits:** Cloudykit- patchy grey and white tom, light blue eyes

Juniperkit- dark beige and grey she-cat, deep blue eyes

 **Elders:** Bluemist- grey-blue she-cat with equally blue eyes

Leafwish- tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Foxfire- striking orange tom with yellow eyes and a long, bushed tail

Cats Outside the Clans

Sweet- cream she-cat with soft green eyes from the Horseplace, loner

Bubble- grey tom with blue eyes from the Horseplace, former Kittypet, now a loner

Starlingcry- dark grey tom, odd dark blue eyes, former ShadowClan cat

Goldenpetal- yellow she-cat, orange eyes, former ShadowClan cat


	2. Prologue Part I

PROLOGUE

PART I

A grey she-cat dove through the undergrowth, panting.

 _I can't… Let him catch up…_ Her mind was whirling urgently as her paws thudded on the soft terrain. _The Dark Forest is attacking StarClan! They're torturing us!_ A furious yowl sounded behind her and a dark brown tabby tom pounced through a small swath of ferns. In a couple heartbeats he was hard on her trail. She took a fearful glance past her shoulder. _No! He can't catch me again! It'll be worse!_ The she-cats numb paws pounded faster onto the ground, struggling to quicken her pace. Dashing through the bright green forest the she-cat felt exhaustion tugging at her as if asking to just collapse and give up desperately.

The scratch on her forehead oozed more blood and trickled into her eye. She blinked to get it out. She was already tired from fighting off the Dark Forest cat moments ago. From that he'd inflicted scratches on her shoulders and haunches, a battered scruff, deeply wounded flanks, and a messed muzzle. She parted her jaws in hopes to scent another StarClan cat or even visitor to help her. No one.

The tom chased her further into the depths of the sunny forest, leaping over fallen trees, dodging thorny brambles and stumbling through bracken. At this point she would jump off a cliff just to avoid the punishment of escaping the dreaded attack.

Another couple treelengths of chasing and the grey feline glanced to the side to see an old birch towering up and peaking over all the other trees besides some elderly oaks and rare pines. Maybe if she climbed it she could leap across the canopy and use her smaller weight to her advantage… Perfect.

Swerving to the left the starry cat bounded to the black and white striped tree and clambered up its smooth bark. She cast glances behind her. The tom was growling as he entered the clearing and glanced around with a puzzled expression. Then he noticed the grey she-cat struggling up the tree. She froze when his eerie orange glare landed on her. She quickly clawed her way higher. The bark of the birch tore under her claws and scrapped irritably against her paw pads. The tom stood at the base off the tree, glaring up at her.

 _Climb faster!_ She pressed herself as she kept going upwards until the trunk thinned out and the branches were quivering under her weight just slightly. Looking to the side she leaped across the branches before they nearly snapped under her nimble and tired paws.

Despite this, she sprang onto the next tree, clambered through the crisscrossing branches, and went to the next and the one after and after.

Taking a glance behind her the grey feline noticed that the tom wasn't in sight. She parted her jaws. She could only smell leaves, earth, and prey.

The she-cat stopped, clumsily climbed down and leaped to the ground, remembering her wounds just at the wrong time. The feline let out a quiet hiss as she glanced at her wounds, the worst one, a deep cut down her flank; was bleeding much worse than before and most of the fur below it was stained red from the crimson liquid.

She heard scampering and growling behind her and immediately fled into the thick undergrowth. The starry warrior began to panic. She scented, hoping to detect any cat that could help her.

She'd only made it a few tail-lengths when she'd ran into brambles and roots trying to see behind her or close her eyes to attempt to escape what seemed like a living nightmare

She half scrambled, half ran over many fox-lengths trying to escape the tom that wasn't even in range of any sense anymore. For all she knew, though, he could easily give a spurt of speed, a pounce, and topple her down again under his sharp, gleaming claws that dug into her shoulders. His paralyzing orange glare… Long and lashing tail… Bristling tabby fur… The grey she-cat shook her head roughly. _Just run! He can't get to you… If you don't… Stop… Just go!_

The she-cats head throbbed at the thought and she slammed into a thick swath of ferns. _Run! He can't do it to you if he can't catch you! Go!_ Another collision, yet her mind still pressed her. It was surprising the warrior could still run at this point, but her adrenaline pushed her onwards. Though if she kept this up she could be fresh-kill for any underworld intruder that came across her. Again visions came, the tom tackling her, claws unsheathed and fangs bared, a smirk coming across his face as he earned a shriek from his victim with a single strike. Her heart thudded harder as she remembered the moment. Running into another swath of undergrowth she growled at herself. _If he gets to you he will most certainly kill you. Not to mention he would do this… This torture again. And it'll be worse than before._

She sprang to her paws and struggled to another sprint. She had to escape this. Yes, maybe running to the ends of StarClan could work, but there's no way she would have any energy left past just a mouse's worth of the journey. Not to mention where StarClan ends, mysterious mountains rise. There she could get lost. She could stop and wait to see if there were any cats near by, but she could be caught again. Yowling for help would bring the attention of cats from both sides of the fight. That would be another no. She didn't see much point in keeping this up either, though. She would run out of energy if she couldn't find anyone. And she would have to literally bump into a cat to notice them, since by the time she noticed a hint of a StarClan warrior smell; it was gone faster than it came.

There was nothing else to do. The more she was tired, the less she would feel her agonizing death, right?

It was sad really, she had once been a strong warrior, but now that she didn't practice her old skills, she could be defeated quickly.

Dying in StarClan never seemed right to the she-cat. Death should be done once, not twice. In her deep thoughts she didn't notice another bramble wall in front of her and she got caught in its tangling, thorny branches. She growled, thrashing around before managing to get out, but not without thorns jabbing into her skin and clinging to her pelt, causing more wounds and making the old ones worse. _Fox-dung!_

She snapped. _Just keep the pace!_

She narrowly avoided a head-on run-in with an oak tree. _That could've easily started your death._ Her darker conscious said, and the she-cat winced. Despite it, she kept dashing, sprinting, scrambling, and running through the near never-ending forest. She felt occasional beams of sunlight hit her fur, and she had an idea. She'd already figured out that there would be no happy ending to this. There was nothing else to turn and beg to. Unless you could beg to death itself and tried to tell it you didn't want to die. But she knew that wouldn't work, what kind of ridiculous thought was that anyways? She'd never heard of such non-sense. There was nothing else to bring an end to this but death.

The feline thought a bit, unknowingly slowing her run. She did know a calm, sunny clearing where she could go in peace.

If the tom came back for her, so be it. She didn't care. In fact, it didn't bother her at all anymore that the tom could come back and torture her again, no matter how gruesome and awful it was. She made the quiet statement that she'd gone mad with all this tired running. But she turned towards where she knew the clearing would be. There, she could die without hearing the heartbroken wails of other cats, at least…

By now her mind kept on repeating to run as if it could help her, but when she missed a fall into a quick-flowing, thin river it reminded her grimly that she could've ended her journey there and not in the clearing as planned. _No. Run until you can't do it anymore, maybe exhaustion will kill you before the tom does… Maybe you don't need a plan…_ The grey and starry-pelted she-cat was about to spring forwards until she stopped dead, realizing she had reached the sunny clearing.

It was empty besides scattered green leaves and one tree stump jutting out of the soft ground. A neat patch of moss grew at the lower roots of the stump. Maybe she could rest there.

But… As she flicked her gaze across the clearing again… She noticed… The most shocking thing the wounded warrior thought she would never see again. "Nebulastar!"


	3. Prologue Part II

PROLOGUE

PART II

A blue-grey she-cat wove her way among grasses and ferns, her light aquatic eyes darting around cautiously. Leaping atop a fallen aspen, head held high, she scanned the bright forest.

 _Why did my dreams lead me to visit StarClan if no one's here?_ Her ears twitched. _Is there some kind of problem?_ The Russian blue's jaw parted to taste the air. _Dirt. Leaves. Moss. That's nothing new._

She leaped down the striped log, padding away from it slowly. "Hello?" Her voice echoed slightly, nothing changed, nothing sounded.

With that she trudged on. She slipped past tall trees, wandering aimlessly. Her paws led her to a quiet clearing. It was average in size, leaves littered the ground, bracken surrounded it, and a mossy tree stump rose from one of the sides of the circular expanse. The she-cat sniffed the trunk and then recoiled at its awful stench, it was musky and tinged with blood, but the feline couldn't find traces of the liquid. _Why does it remind me of darkness? What is this?_ Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. _It definitely came from a cat, because there are traces of it behind the reek._ She flicked her tail. The she-cat couldn't pinpoint it, but it felt as if she should know this smell. The blue warrior huffed slightly. Why bring her here to just to smell a _stump_?

Then a yowl split the air, sharp and full of anguish.

The she-cat snapped her head towards the direction of the sound, her ears perked. The sound was from far away, that was for sure. The cat waited a moment as she tested the air yet again. Whatever cat had made the noise was coming into scent range. It smelled like the forest she stood in now, but there also was fish and moss. _That's a typical RiverClan scent…_ The she-cat's eyes flickered with fear. Was one of her cats being attacked? She crouched, muscles rippling under her soft fur; she began to spring, tensing before the final burst of strength that would carry her forwards-

A grey she-cat burst into the clearing, her blue eyes wide with terror, fur puffed out and claws unsheathed. The cat's fur was starry, the other noticed. _Then she's from StarClan, obviously… But… Wait. Grey fur, blue eyes, RiverClan…_

"Nebulastar!" The new she-cat exclaimed. _She knows my name... Then it has to be…_

"Mistwing!" Nebulastar purred, rushing up the startled cat. She smiled. The she-cat had been her former mentor when she was an apprentice, many seasons ago. The horses in the Horseplace had trampled her when they had escaped, two others fell with her, it had been an awful day, and the worst part was that Nebulastar could remember all of it. Looking over her mentor now, she would of thought to see a sleek, healthy pelt and bright eyes glittering with content… This wasn't what she would've thought to see.

Mistwing had many scars all over her physique, all looked fresh and still bleeding. It was overly apparent that something had happened here by all the fear that filled her eyes.

Backing away, the leader blinked slowly. "What happened…?"

Mistwing shuffled into the ferns behind her, opening her jaws to speak. But really she stuttered more than spoke. Her gaze darted around nervously. What was wrong with her?

"I- it's just- they- uh…"

"What? You-they what?"

"It's the-"

Another cat exploded from the undergrowth, right behind Mistwing. His face was twisted in a snarl and his narrowed orange eyes shined with hatred. In a heartbeat two other cats rushed to his side. Both toms had dark brown fur, much similar to the first one's earthen tabby pelt. The three must be related somehow.

With a yowl of vengeance, the dark tom in the lead leaped onto Mistwing, who collapsed under his weight. His unsheathed claws struck her face several times, but even before Nebulastar could jump in for her mentor, the two other cats hit her from both sides with baring fangs and sharp claws.

Nebulastar spun around, swiping the cat that struck from the left. She hissed and turned at the other one and did the same. Her enemies growled and one leaped onto her flank, pushing her down into the ground. With sharp reflexes the leader kicked him off and pinned him while he toppled to the earth. The blue-grey she-cat sent her claws across his face, pummelling his stomach several times, ignoring his sharp coughs. She sliced his front as she jumped off and raised a paw to hit the other tom. He narrowed his eyes but stayed in his place.

The RiverClan leader hissed and clawed his muzzle and cuffed his already shredded ear. With an indignant spit the tom ducked away, running across the clearing and diving into the undergrowth. Nebulastar hadn't realized that her previous victim was coughing still, and blood was stained around his mouth. She heard Mistwing shriek, gasping for air and desperately trying to speak. "Nebulastar! Listen to me! The Dark Forest has come back! You have to search through sky, water, feather and fur to bring forth the wing of peace to save everyone!" Her voice was cut off roughly with an awful gurgling noise. But she barely noticed that, too.

What she hadn't realized, and was honestly much more major, was that Mistwing was now sprawled limply in a pool of crimson liquid after being cut off. The large tabby scowled slightly. More cats appeared from the undergrowth, each having a dark look about them. After counting that there were six new cats, Nebulastar dove into the undergrowth, eyeing it from there. Even if she was a strong cat, she knew that she couldn't defeat seven cats.

"This one's fine, though she gave a considerable chase. I let her drain her energy."

The lead tabby meowed simply to them in a tone that one would use everyday. As if killing a cat is _normal_! "Alright, we saw another go off this way," One of the new cats meowed with a point of her tail; she was a bushy orange tabby she-cat. "We'll go on our way."

With that she motioned to the six to follow her as she padded away. The tom sighed shortly and looked back to Mistwing. "Pity. Looks like you could've been a nice slave."

Nebulastar tensed, eyes widening a bit. _Slave? That's what the StarClan warriors told me about when I visited a moon ago! When they said they used cats to do things for them, like fighting, hunting and even killing!_ She blinked slowly; it still made no sense to her that cats would torture others as much as doing everything for them.

The shady warrior eyed her fallen mentor with scrutiny. His dull laugh echoed oddly around the clearing. "I'm sure there will be more. Useless mouse-brains are always around." He flicked dust over the dead she-cat's body as if she was an old piece of prey. Against her will, Nebulastar hissed. The tom's ears perked. "Oh? We have a watcher?" He snickered with a glance around. "Come out, precious coward. Or would you like me to disgrace this slave all by myself?"

 _What does he mean by that?_ Nebulastar thought, but decided it was best to stay put, the cats that had just been sent away were still near by, so if she caused a ruckus they would turn back to save this tom, and anyways, his plan couldn't be that bad, right?

 _Oh no. Very wrong…_

The tom was now hovering over Mistwing with a coy look. After many stories of what the Dark Forest had begun to come up with in terms of torture, she had heard of this one. And it was very wrong. Many words could be used to describe it, actually. Disgusting, horrifying, scarring, awful, weird, and even gruelling. The tom leaned down, his foul breath disturbing the fur in Mistwing's ear. "A shame indeed…"

With a snarl Nebulastar flung herself out of the bracken, bowling the tom over and cutting his ear sharply. She struck again, and paused shortly when she made momentary eye contact.

The tom simply stared at her, smirking. He didn't even acknowledge that he could be killed in an instant, well; at least that's what it looked like. He kept his cool, resting with his paws up as if he was innocent. And when he opened his jaws and began to speak in his low, rumbling growl it sent a small shiver down Nebulastar's spine.

"My, my, what do we have here?"

Darkness. The first thing Nebulastar saw as she opened her eyes. The moon was shining above her, but it really didn't help to see in the night. Second, blood. Its awful reek made its way to her nose, making her recoil. She was lying down, or, more like splayed out in the awful fluid, there wasn't much, but enough to give her the message something happened. She heard steps, and a shadow loomed over the RiverClan leader.

"Now we know where those badgers went."

Blinking to see fully, Nebulastar recognized the form of Oakstripe, ShadowClan's deputy, and two of his warriors, Pineshade and Crowwing. Pineshade stared at her with sharp green eyes and Crowwing seemed rather startled by the fact a _leader_ was in such a vulnerable state. Flicking her sights around, Nebulastar noticed that she lay on the border of ShadowClan territory.

 _Hold on, badgers?_

The she-cat's thoughts suddenly rushed in by the word. Badgers had invaded ShadowClan's camp and Falconstar, their leader, had sent Cedarpaw to get help from RiverClan, as they were on bad terms with ThunderClan. Nebulastar had agreed, taking herself, Snowtalon, Willowpelt, and Swiftfoot. They had reached their camp, fought the three off and went to head back to their home camp but had been interrupted by two of the badgers who attacked them previously and planned to do so again. Willowpelt had been badly injured during that, but she had Swiftfoot to take her back. Snowtalon had stayed behind to help Nebulastar fight, and she had heard his yowl of warning, but it had been too late. Something hard hit her side and blackness had overcome her and the she-cat had gone limp. She had woken up in StarClan, but she hadn't remembered what had happened before. She thought she'd just been dreaming during a peaceful sleep in her camp.

She heard an enraged hiss. "Yeah, now you know, fleabrain." That was Snowtalon's voice. It was easy to recognize, really, one would just had to have met the cat to know his sharp retorts. "Now if you were _smart_ , you would help Nebulastar."

"She's _your_ leader. _You_ should help her. We're simply here to get her out of our territory." Oakstripe seethed.

"I doubt Falconstar would appreciate your behaviour." Snowtalon growled, padding up to his leader's side and prodding her lightly. "Can you walk?"

Nebulastar simply twitched her whiskers, pushing herself to her paws slowly. Pain seared her side and she felt blood pulse from several wounds. She looked over to Oakstripe, who looked rather amused. "Go back to your camp, now. Anything that needs to be discussed will be done with me and Falconstar at the Gathering in a quarter moon." She meowed, trying to keep from snarling.

Pineshade looked ready to obey and Crowwing sent an unsteady glance to the deputy, but Oakstripe nodded, keeping his irritating smirk. Nebulastar turned and padded away into the tall, lush grasses of the marsh with Snowtalon a tail-length behind. She took a deep breath, barely paying attention to where she stepped, all she cared was to reach camp and rest. But such a thing as even sleeping would be hard; she was silently having a war with herself in her head about everything that had happened. _A prophecy, Mistwing dying, and a badger attack? Where's the sense in that? The Clans are supposed to be at serenity!_

Thankfully, Nebulastar had reached camp safely. She barely even took two steps before her medicine cat Sandstreak came up, speaking quietly as to not disturb the sleeping members of her Clan.

"I'm not going to ask what happened, as you look like you're about to fall asleep and are badly injured, but you are coming to my den so you can be healed, no matter how tired you are."

She nodded, not really wanting to speak. Leave it up to Sandstreak to make a one-sided conversation when needed. But Snowtalon still padded up to Sandstreak as he led his leader to the medicine den and shortly explained what had happened. Sandstreak had nodded, told him to go rest, and brought Nebulastar to the medicine den. He made poultices, washed out the wounds, covered them, and gave her a couple of herbs to eat for the time being. But it was really all a blur. Next thing she knew, Nebulastar was in her nest, on her side, eyes closed, and slowly loosing feeling as she fell asleep. But her last thought was anything but sleepy or defeated.

 _I'll find this cat for you Mistwing, and all the cats of the five Clans. I won't accept failure. I won't stop searching until I find the one that has the wing of peace. Please, give me the hint in the stars._


End file.
